Passaic tries to teach immigrants safety through their children

The best way to get safety messages to parents is to teach their children. The kids love to teach their parents a new thing. DP

By ED BEESON, HERALD NEWS

northjersey.com: PASSAIC -- The boy's question was an innocent one.

"Do they have firefighters in Mexico?" asked the Hispanic youth wearing a plastic firefighter helmet.

Yes they do, fire Chief Patrick Trentacost responded with a smile.The question highlighted a challenge faced by fire departments that serve immigrant communities. Many Passaic residents hail from countries where fire safety education is rarely taught, and the fire departments themselves are less organized, Trentacost said later in an interview.

Now living in densely packed and often fire-prone housing, these families are potentially at risk of being swept up in a disaster. That risk only increases if families are afraid to call fire departments because they fear having to explain their immigration status, he said.

But by reaching out to the children of these immigrants, fire officials believe that the safety lessons can and do filter upward.

"It's unbelievable the amount of information that goes back to their parents," Trentacost said.
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